Wednesday, April 8, 2009

I got home from work tonight exhausted and not at all in the mood to cook. I've had a cold for the past 2 or 3 weeks, and I can't remember the last time I went grocery shopping. It pains me to admit it but I've probably ordered more delivery in the last 2 weeks than in the whole year before that. So, I figured tonight would be another night like that.

But after a refreshing shower, I had a little more energy, so I started digging around in the freezer, and I came across a ziploc bag of individually-frozen sweet potato gnocchi. I had even written a note to myself that there were 2 servings worth in there. Score! In the fridge, I found a tiny bit of leftover tomato sauce with basil from Raffetto's, just enough for one meal. I cooked half the bag of gnocchi in a pot of salted water, heated up the sauce in a small skillet, and transferred the gnocchi over to the warm sauce when they were finished.

Only when it was all mixed together did I stop to think - sweet potatoes and tomatoes? What was I thinking? What would that even taste like? I've had plain potato gnocchi with tomato sauce before, but sweet potatoes have a much stronger taste, and suddenly I was nervous. On top of that, the gnocchi had been kind of disappointing the first time around, so... it was with a good deal of trepidation that I took my first bite.

And it was so good! Maybe it's because this was the closest I've come to a home-cooked meal in a long time; maybe it's because enough time has passed since I first made the gnocchi that the struggle that went into them is a distant memory; maybe it's because I managed to convince myself that the gnocchi were only barely edible last time. And who knows, maybe it's because I'm still sort of congested and my taste buds are not operating at their full capacity. But whatever the reason, tonight those gnocchi were downright delicious. They were soft and yielding, melting perfectly into their saucy red tomato bath, and now I'm really excited about the single serving left in that freezer bag.

Does this mean I'd make them again? Uh... probably not. But at least now I can look back on my gnocchi experiment as something of a success.